Hi all, if you’re interested, Dwight has posted a new blog, titled “I Do Not Believe in Lycanthropes”.
Check it out at http://blog.nbc.com/DwightsBlog/2007/10/i_do_not_believe_in_lycanthrop.php
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Welcome to new commentator Julie Devereaux! Julie and I will be teaming up for a new feature on the site: LITO PODCASTS. Thanks to Quessadilla for the suggestion!!
I used to love playing this online game with my friend called Acrophobia. You abbreviate each word with only the first letter, such as I L Y= I love you.
Anyone want to play with quotes from the office?
Let’s start with an easy one.
Speaker: Michael (In response to the last line)
T W S S
Too easy for you?
Here’s another: Pam
Speaker: T R O J A U R
TY! HAGE!
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As always, here is our Scranton Insider on recent episodes of The Office.
Oh. My. God. I barely know where to begin with this week’s post. Actually, I’ll be starting with last week’s episode. First I’ll talk about “Branch Closing,” and then “The Merger.” It’s two posts in one this week! Here we go.
Last week during “Branch Closing,” the gang was trying to coordinate a lunch to celebrate the fact that the Scranton branch wasn’t actually closing. Kevin mentioned several options, all of them real places.
DJ’s is a wing type of place on North Main street, and it’s pretty good. My favorite wing place in Scranton, Uncle Mike’s (where I spent my 21st birthday), no longer exists. Sigh.
Cooper’s (which also showed up at the tail end of “The Merger”) is almost a Scranton institution. What started out as a small seafood restaurant has branched into several locations in the area. The original Scranton location (just a hop, skip and a jump from Dunder-Mifflin) is quite an impressive building. The main bar area is actually within an enormous pirate ship, featuring life-sized pirates positioned all around, battling sea creatures and singing (see photo above). It’s not as cheesy as it sounds.
Among Cooper’s claims to fame are: The extremely good crab bisque, the fact that former President Bill Clinton once ate there (Mr. Clinton’s late father-in-law is buried in Scranton. I stood out in the rain for hours just to watch his car drive by on the way to the burial. Classy, I know), the Cooper’s “Beer Club” features more that 200 beers from around the world and most importantly, I spent two years of my life working as a busboy at Cooper’s when I was in high school. There’s nothing quite like coming home at 1 in the morning smelling like stale lobster innards. Yum.
Next up was Cugino’s which, as Kevin mentioned, is in neighboring Dunmore. It’s an unassuming neighborhood place. Finally, the gang ended up at
Finally, I noticed a “Sal’s Pizza” flyer in the Dunder-Mifflin break room. Sal’s, as you may have guessed, is a real pizza joint. Oddly enough, the Abe’s Deli menu seems to be missing this year (it used to be on the side of the refrigerator). What’s going on, prop department?
But enough about “Branch Closing.” “The Merger” may go down as one of my all-time favorite episodes, if only for the Lazy Scranton video. You may remember that, a few weeks ago, we reported that a crew from the show had taken some exterior shots from around town. Apparently, now we know why. I think it’s safe to say that the Lazy Scranton video will go down in popular Scranton history with other legendary tidbits like Manny Gordon’s “Enjoy, enjoy” ads and just about anything Miss Judy ever did.*
First off, Dwight is wearing a Rock 107 T-shirt under his button-down. Rock 107 is, dare I say, THE rock radio station in Scranton. When I was a wee lad in Scranton, 107 (as the cool kids call it) was the only station I listened to. Every morning, I enjoyed the Daniels and Webster show. If that names sounds a bit familiar to you, it’s because half of that team, John Webster, is a frequent commenter here at LITO. Hi, John! You can read John’s blog here. When I first left Scranton to attend Berklee College of Music on Boston way back in 1989, it was with a Rock 107 bumper sticker on my drum cases (it’s still there, in fact). You may also remember last season Dwight was trying to win a Jethro Tull box set from 107 by being the 107th caller (John assures us that they don’t make their poor listeners call in that many times).
Michael’s T-shirt seems more generic and says “Electric City.” That is Scranton’s nickname, by the way, and you can see a photo that I took of the sign that Michael is next to right here. All of the locations that appeared in the video are real. The Anthracite Heritage Museum is located in a park called McDade Park. The short story is (this post is getting a bit long) that coal mining was a real boom for Scranton a long time ago, and many of our grandfathers were coal miners. In fact, when I was growing up, or house and hot water was heated by a coal furnace in our basement. Last season, Michael mentioned the coal mine tour, which is also in McDade and really cool. Seriously, check it out if you’re in town.
Montage Mountain is a ski resort that can be seen from West Side. During the summer they host concerts and other kinds of fun stuff. I used to ski there all the time when I was in jr. high.
Whew, what a post. What a great show. As an aside, I’ll say that I don’t know how much you all enjoy my posts, especially readers who have never even been to Pennsylvania, but I sure as heck enjoy writing them. Though I moved away from Scranton many years ago and have built a nice life for myself since then, I still miss it so very much. It’s as much a part of me as my skin, my thoughts and my heart. I still have family there and I still visit, but it’s not the same. I love The Office for the writing and acting, of course, but the fact that it’s set in what I’ll always consider “my hometown” makes it even more fantastic. I know you love the show, but I bet you don’t get just a tiny bit teary-eyed when you watch the opening credits, or when the gang goes to Cooper’s for lunch. I do.
Thanks to the producers and prop department of The Office. You’re making this old Scranton boy very happy.
*Ok, so those references were strictly for other Scrantonians. I’ve got to throw my people a little love, understand?
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As always, Dave gives us the view as a Scranton Insider:
Just a quickie this week, folks. Believe it or not, our Scranton reference in “The Initiation” comes from the Stamford branch! Take a look at the above shot of Jim’s desk. He’s drinking a Crystal Cola! As you may remember, Crystal is a Scranton-based beverage company. Several cans of Crystal have show up at the Scranton branch (their vending machine dispenses it), and now it’s in Connecticut as well. Does Jim find it locally, or is he having it shipped from Scranton? Can anyone in Stamford confirm if Crystal is in the stores out there?
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As always, Dave gives us the view as a Scranton Insider:
First of all, let’s start with the best line from “The Coup.” Spoken by Michael while on the phone with Jan:
“You were at the dentist?” I almost wet myself.
Anyway, let’s talk about the great Scranton references that show up last week. First of all, when Pam was showing her new blouse to Kelly at Kelly’s desk, there was a photo on the wall of the “Electric City” sign. Scranton’s nickname is The Electric City, and there is a huge sign on the roof of one of the buildings downtown that bears the name. It’s moderately impressive when lit up at night, as the photo above this post indicates. I thought it was cool that Kelly had a photo of the sign next to her desk, but kind of odd that it was a daytime shot, making the sign really hard to see. I only recognized the roof of the building.
Dwight’s meeting with Jan at the Claiborne outlet is a bit of a puzzle. There is an outlet mall in Tannersville, which is south of Scranton, and I know that there is a Claiborne outlet in Tannersville (don’t ask me how). Yet, Jan lives in New York, and told Dwight that she was already “an hour outside of Scranton” when he called her from the parking lot. It seems odd that Jan would travel south to the outlet, only to turn around and go north (and through Scranton again) just to get home to New York. Maybe there’s an outlet in the other direction that I’m unaware of. Which is possible because, as you may have guessed, I’m not much of an outlet shopper.
Later, in the break room, Dwight gets a soda as he tells Angela that she can be “…in charge of the women” once he takes over the branch. Dwight is drinking a Crystal Cola, and that is a Scranton soda company. In fact, the Crystal building is only a few blocks from Dunder-Mifflin. Crystal sodas have made many appearances on the show. I was looking at the buttons on the soda machine to see if I could identify any others (thank you frame-by-frame. Wow, I’m a nerd) but couldn’t.
That’s it for this week. As an aside, every time there’s an outdoor scene, I just sigh as I know they aren’t really in Scranton…or even Pennsylvania. How I wish they were! Come on, guys! The gang from Cheers showed up in Boston to shoot some outdoor scenes! I’ll buy you all a hoagie!
This site updates often with fun Office news. If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or subscribe to updates by email. Also, check out the forum. Thanks for visiting!
As always, Dave gives us the view as a Scranton Insider:
Woo, it’s good to be back! More importantly, it’s great to have our show back on the air. Don’t you agree? Let’s get to it, shall we.
At the very beginning, when Roy brought Pam her lunch, I’m pretty sure I saw a University of Scranton flag behind Pam. Odd, as I thought she went to Marywood University (as did yours truly), which is the other university in Scranton. Marywood and the U of S are on opposite ends of town, and an even deeper divide exists between the two schools. Marywood students do NOT go to U bars (we call it “The U” in Scranton) and vice versa. It’s an unwritten rule that makes the flag’s presence at Marywood alum Pam’s desk puzzling. The Scranton Chamber of Commerce cup still holds pens on her desk as it has done in previous seasons.
And you know what, people? That was it! No other Scranton references in this week’s episode. But I won’t hold that against the writers.
See you next week!
This site updates often with fun Office news. If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or subscribe to updates by email. Also, check out the forum. Thanks for visiting!
As always, Dave gives us the view as a Scranton Insider:
It’s the super-sized finale this week, and with it the super-sized mistakes abound! First, let’s start with the good news.
Ok, Kevin’s band is called “Scrantonicity.” That’s easily the greatest thing I’ve ever heard. Seriously, folks. “Scrantonicity” was inspired. My hats off to the Office writers.
Next: Vance Refrigeration. I have it under good authority (Ok, John Webster from Rock 107 told me) that Vance Refrigeration is in fact fictitious. That’s ok, there’s nothing wrong with inventing businesses. Speaking of invention…
Here comes the bad news. There is no Chili’s in Scranton! Nor is there a Hooters (much to the chagrin of many teenage boys). We’ve got just about
every other chain restaurant you can think of (including my beloved Denny’s. Oh, Moons Over My Hammy,how I love you), but Office favorites Chili’s and Hooters just aren’t in town. Oh, well.
I’m not disappointed, though. This was such a well thought-out episode with really a top notch, cliffhanger ending that I’m willing to let it slide. How
funny was it to watch Dwight struggle in vain to manipulate his bobble head with his mind? I would have watched just that for 40 minutes.
Now that the season is over, you may begin to feel a little sad. “No more Scranton Insider,” I hear you wail. Well buck up, little soldier, for I’ll be here all summer long. You may know that I started posting here at the great LITO midway through season 2. So, I’ll spend the summer reviewing all of the episodes I still haven’t dissected for you, starting with season 1, episode 1. Plus, I’ll be keeping a careful eye on the special web episodes that NBC will be posting, and offering reviews of those as well. The schedule will be the same, one “Insider” post per week. Why? Because I’d miss you guys.
Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you around the office.
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As always, Dave gives us the view as a Scranton Insider:
Wow, what an uncomfortable episode. If I worked with Michael, I’d have to kill him. Lucky for me, I’m not a Dunder-Mifflin employee.
While this week’s episode was great (and set up a real cliffhanger as the season finale), it was a bit skimpy on the local Scranton references. Right off the bat, Michael talks about having his hair cut at Fantastic Sam’s. I’ve got to admit, I never heard of this. A quick search on Google Maps revealed a location on Township Boulevard in neighboring Wilkes-Barre. Could Michael drive all that way out there for a haircut? We know that Dwight makes the commute daily, as (I believe) he once revealed that he lives “…outside Wilkes-Barre.” Correct me if I’m wrong.
Speaking of where the different characters live, don’t you think it’d be fun to see more episodes that put them outside of the office itself? I enjoyed the booze cruise episode, as well as seeing the gang ice skate for Michael’s birthday. Imagine Dwight at home, or maybe a Dunder-Mifflin cookout in Michael’s back yard? The mind reels.
Anyway, later in the episode we saw Jim in the break room and drinking from his “Restoring the Pride” mug again. This mug first appeared in the episode “Dwight’s Speech.” “Restoring the Pride” was the slogan of a campaign to revitalize the downtown area of Scranton. It’s nice to see the prop department having Jim use the same mug.
Finally, towards the end of the episode, Michael is sitting at this desk with a can of Crystal Cola by his side. The Crystal Beverage Company is located right in Scranton, and features such great flavors as Cherokee Red and the highly addictive 50/50, which is lime and grapefruit. Believe me, it’s fantastic.
That’s it for this week, folks. Like I said, not a whole lot of references this time around. Come back next week for a super-sized analysis of the super-sized finale! Don’t leave Scranton, Jim!
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As always, Dave gives us the view as a Scranton Insider:
Hello, dear readers. Before I begin this week, I just want to let you all know that no, I have never pooped a balloon. There, I said it.
The office was rocked this week by Dwight’s discovery of half a joint in the parking lot. As a “Lackawanna County” volunteer Sherif’s deputy (Scranton is in Lackawanna County), Dwight upholds his sworn duty to identify the group’s resident druggie.
Later, Kelly mentions that she had eaten nothing but a pretzel from “…Auntie Ann’s in the food court” prior to attending a party. She’s undoubtedly talking about the pretzel chain Auntie Ann’s in the Steamtown Mall. This is the Steamtown Mall’s 2nd mention this season, the first being from the episode “Take your daughter to work day” (Stanley’s daughter mentioned Jitterz, a coffee in the mall).
Michael mentions that he smoked a “clove cigarette” during an Alicia Keyes concert at the Montage Mountain Performing Arts Center. This was by far the best reference this week. Montage Mountain is a ski resort (if “resort” is the right word) that can be clearly seen from Scranton. In fact, when I lived in west Scranton I could see a haze in the lights above the slopes whenever they were making snow. In the summer, the hold concerts there, and it’s a lot of fun. I can remember when I was in college, I went to see a Lollapalooza show there. On the following night, the mountain would play host to a Michael Bolton concert. The Scranton Times (newspaper) ran a story about officials at the mountain who were worried about damage that the hippie Lollapalooza crowd would inflict upon the property. Can you guess where this is going? The Bolton crowd far outdid the alternative kids.
I didn’t recognize the building Dwight walked into towards the show’s end, but as far as I know they cast hasn’t yet filmed in Scranton. Maybe someday…
That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading, folks!
This site updates often with fun Office news. If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or subscribe to updates by email. Also, check out the forum. Thanks for visiting!
As always, Dave gives us the view as a Scranton Insider:
This week the folks at the office celebrated (kind of) Michael’s birthday. It was a good episode, but believe it or not, I found a mistake! More on that later.
In an attempt to “get the party started,” Michael had Dwight get subs for the group from the Niko-Bella deli. As you may have guessed, this is a real deli right in town. However, this brings us to this week’s error.
Michael calls the sandwiches “subs.” Subs?!? In Scranton, they’re “hoagies.” I guess I can let this minor error go.
Pam and Jim go shopping for gifts for Kevin at a Rite Aid. Rite Aid is a drug store chain that is all over Scranton. Its inclusion in the show is very appropriate, as Rite Aid was in fact founded in Scranton. The very first store came to be in 1968.
Of course, the best part of this week’s episode (from a Scranton Insider’s point of view, at least) was the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins jersey Michael received from Dwight. The Penguins are a professional hockey team representing both Scranton and neighboring Wilkes-Barre, and that was a real Penguins jersey Michael held up. Very cool.
A good episode this week. I’ll talk to you next week, dear readers!
This site updates often with fun Office news. If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or subscribe to updates by email. Also, check out the forum. Thanks for visiting!
